Cross-posted from Decipher's message boards...
Developer's Weblog
8.22.2003
Here we are, in late August. It seems like LotR RPG projects have been flashing by at light speed and there's a lot to talk about. But first, apologies are in order. These updates on the state of the line have been coming roughly monthly rather than weekly, as I hoped when I started them. So it goes. I shall try to be more timely in the future while continuing to work hard on other projects.
Since I last wrote, Helm's Deep has been making steady progress through our production department. While I'm not sure where exactly they are with it at the moment, I can say the proofs I've seen should not disappoint when that book reaches the shelves of your friendly local game store. To clear up some confusion that arose when The Two Towers Sourcebook was released, new rules for mass combat will appear in Helm's Deep and were not (to my knowledge) ever slated for TTSB.
Paths of the Wise: The Guide to Magicians and Loremasters is also in layout in our production department. It includes (among other things) all kinds of crunchy bits: new order abilities, new elite orders, new spells, new enchantment rules, and on and on. Here's a taste:
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Water-fear
Casting Time: 1
Range: 20 yards per point of Bearing
Duration: 10 minutes per point of Bearing
Weariness TN: 10
Cost: 1 spell pick
Method: Standard, Song
Specialty: Water
Effect: This spell is an enchantment first woven in Imladris to protect the river borders that separate it from the outside world. Whether Master Elrond himself created it, tales of lore do not say. It may affect one character or creature per point of the caster’s Bearing modifier. The targets of the spell must make a TN 10 + caster’s Bearing modifier Willpower test. All who fail suffer a –6 penalty to all tests as long as they remain within 10 yards of a substantial body of water such as a river, stream, lake, or sea. They may not cross the water in a vessel, on foot, or on horseback; they must either fly or cross at a bridge. If a target of Water-fear suffers a disastrous failure from his test to resist the spell, he suffers its effects for twice the duration of the spell.
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My development of the Isengard sourcebook was frequently interrupted by my summer convention travel, but that's recently off my desk and on down the road to production and release. I've also finished the post-playtest development of Fields of Battle recently.
This week I've been reviewing the authors' drafts of The Return of the King Sourcebook. The RotKSB is being penned by Matt Colville of our Los Angeles office; Doug Sun, who wrote Paths of the Wise and has done a great deal of work on our Star Trek line; Peter Schweighofer, who has written the lion's share of the Rohan sourcebook; and, finally, the board's very own Jim "Ineti" Johnson. The book's format follows the other novel/film sourcebooks with a chapter that follows the story, a chapter that presents the characters' statistics and background, and a chapter that describes important locations from the tale.
And now I'm off for home, there to grill hamburgers and spend a relaxing weekend with wife and dog. I'll leave you to guess which is beautiful and which is obedient.
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